The retention of Guyanese nurses is proving to be a challenge as droves continue to depart to greener pastures abroad, Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony revealed in the Committee of Supply earlier today, during the consideration of budget 2020 estimates at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC), Liliendaal, East Coast Demerara (ECD).
The health official noted that the “active recruitment” of Guyanese nurses continues to be a challenge, and while the government is constrained, it is examining alternatives.
“[An] additional problem is the active recruitment of nurses from Guyana, and we have been losing nurses…So we’re looking at ways that we can slow that down. I don’t think that we might ever be able to stop it, but we have to at least slow it down, so that we can be able to produce more nurses to the facilities,” the told the House.
Asked what is being done to ensure that nurses “feel comfortable and not leave the shores”, Dr Anthony noted that the solution may lie in the expansion of training programmes to cater for more recruits. He opined that this could offset the shortfall by creating an influx of new nurses locally.
Another issue is Guyana not being able to compete with the salaries and nonmonetary incentives being offered by foreign recruiters.
“To compete with the salaries that are being paid in the UK – that’s a very tall order,” he stressed, noting that nurses who are recruited, are given the option of taking along family members.
“That offer is not just for the nurse to go to the UK, but the entire family to accompany the nurse, and so, these are the dynamics that we have, and so we have to work to see how we can slow it down or address it…That pull factor is a big challenge. So, we’re working on it. I won’t say we have perfect solutions, but we have to work on addressing some of these,” he noted.
He referenced a study that was done some time ago, when nurses were asked about some of the nonmonetary incentives they would like to be implemented. He said that setting up a daycare for nurses who are mothers of small children, was one of the recommendations.
“This year we are going to work on that,” he said, while adding that ministry is working to examine other avenues, including the commissioning of several studies to determine the way forward.
